MotoGP

Johann Zarco says his “main target right now” is to establish a “base” of top 10 finishes in the early part of his first MotoGP season on the Avintia Ducati. After quitting KTM midway through last year – and then being dropped outright after the Misano round – Zarco was thrown a lifeline by Ducati

The opening two rounds of the 2020 MotoGP world championship have been scrubbed from the schedule due to travel restrictions put in place over coronavirus fears. On Sunday night series organisers Dorna Sports and MotoGP’s governing body the FIM announced it had to cancel the Qatar Grand Prix for the premier class due to the

Dorna Sports may move the Aragon MotoGP race forward by two weeks to accommodate the postponed Thailand round on October 4. The MotoGP promoter is continuing to work through a revised calendar amid the COVID-19 crisis, with the season-opener at Qatar already called off and the second round in Buriram postponed. It is yet to

CEO of Dorna Sports Carmelo Ezpeleta insists “there will absolutely be a 2020 MotoGP season” in a statement responding to the cancellation of the first two races due to coronavirus. On Sunday evening, series organisers Dorna confirmed it had cancelled this weekend’s Qatar MotoGP race owing to all travellers from Italy – which saw a

The doctor who operated on MotoGP champion Marc Marquez’s shoulder says surgery was necessary to avoid the injury deteriorating to the severity of his 2018 shoulder issue. Marquez dislocated his left shoulder in training during the 2018 pre-season, with the issue recurring across the campaign and eventually requiring a “complicated” operation at the end of

MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez had successful surgery on Wednesday on a recurring right shoulder dislocation he initially suffered during qualifying at Sepang earlier this month. Marquez was thrown from his Honda at Turn 2 of the Sepang circuit in the latter stages of qualifying while trying to follow Petronas SRT’s Fabio Quartararo, but he

The Avintia MotoGP team had to split with Karel Abraham to ensure it was in a “secure situation” going forward, says the team’s sporting director Ruben Xaus. Abraham had a deal in place to continue with the Ducati customer outfit in 2020 but was informed that his contract was being terminated last week. It is

Yamaha boss Massimo Meregalli admits the updated 2020 engine coming for February’s Sepang test is unlikely to have large improvements compared to the specification in the Valencia and Jerez tests. Yamaha duo Maverick Vinales and Valentino Rossi each had one 2020 prototype M1 for the post-season tests in Spain, which featured a new engine as

MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez is set to have surgery on Wednesday on a recurring right shoulder dislocation he initially suffered during qualifying at Sepang earlier this month. Marquez was thrown from his Honda at Turn 2 of the Sepang circuit in the latter stages of qualifying while trying to follow Petronas SRT’s Fabio Quartararo,

Marc Marquez topped the timesheets on the final day of 2019 MotoGP testing as inclement weather meant running at Jerez was extremely limited. Following a 30-minute delay to the start of proceedings, Avintia’s Tito Rabat was the first to emerge from his garage and take to the track, with Petronas SRT’s Fabio Quartararo following the

Andrea Dovizioso has warned the gains from Ducati’s “very interesting” 2020 prototype MotoGP chassis are “not as big as we want” after testing it at Valencia and Jerez. Through the 2019 season, Dovizioso called for improvements to the bike’s turn in and he added that the new Ducati chassis has demonstrated improvement. Chassis gains remain

Maverick Vinales opened up the final MotoGP post-season test of 2019 at Jerez fastest in a session which was red-flagged three times, as Marc Marquez also crashed in the afternoon. The track stayed silent for the first 45 minutes of the session before Aleix Espargaro disrupted the calm on his Aprilia, with KTM duo Brad

Marc Marquez says a damp patch caused his crash early in Monday’s MotoGP test at Jerez and led to a partial dislocation of his right shoulder. Marquez sat top of the session early on Monday after his initial run on his 2019-spec Honda, but quickly switched to his ’20-spec RC213V. In the morning, the track

Cal Crutchlow says Honda won’t be giving back the LCR MotoGP crew it took to help Jorge Lorenzo this year, as they will remain in place for Alex Marquez. Crutchlow revealed HRC took three members of his team away from him at the end of last year to form part of Lorenzo’s crew for the

MotoGP regular Karel Abraham says he is out of a ride for 2020 and will conclude his career in the premier class, potentially paving the way for Johann Zarco’s full-time return. A MotoGP regular in privateer machinery since 2011, albeit having taken a year off to race for BMW in World Superbikes, Abraham had a

Moto2 squad Marc VDS has replaced the Honda MotoGP-bound Alex Marquez with Augusto Fernandez, increasing the liklihood that Johann Zarco will sign for Avintia in MotoGP. The Belgian-owned outfit Marc VDS, which has won three of the last six Moto2 riders’ titles with Marquez, Franco Morbidelli and Tito Rabat, was left scrambling to find a

Pramac Ducati rider Jack Miller wants MotoGP to get rid of post-season testing and instead have manufacturers make more use of test riders. The series will lose the traditional post-Valencia GP test from next year onwards as part of a wider reduction in testing, and will instead head to Jerez the week after the final

LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow admits the 2020 prototype RC213V he tested in the post-Valencia MotoGP test is no easier to ride currently than its much-criticised predecessor. Crutchlow was very vocal about the ’19 RC213V’s difficulty in turning all through this year, with the LCR rider only managing three podiums in 19 races having won a

Pol Espargaro was “shocked” when he was able to match Marc Marquez’s top time after just three laps with KTM’s new chassis in MotoGP’s post-season test in Valencia. Espargaro tried a radical new KTM chassis on Tuesday, which he ended the opening day in eighth with, and had another specification at his disposal for Wednesday.

Andrea Iannone says his RS-GP caught fire during the MotoGP Valencia test because Aprilia was trying an “extreme” gearbox solution to find more power. Iannone caused a red flag a couple of hours into Wednesday’s running at the Valencia test when his Aprilia burst into flames on the main straight on the run into Turn

Aleix Espargaro says Aprilia not having a prototype 2020 MotoGP bike to test in this week’s two-day post-Valencia Grand Prix test is “not at all” acceptable for a “big factory”. Yamaha, Honda, KTM, Suzuki and Ducati are expected to roll out their ’20 bikes on Tuesday and at the two-day test at Jerez next week

Valentino Rossi says Yamaha still has “a long way” to go to match its MotoGP rivals’ top speed, despite positive initial impressions from the 2020 prototype engine. While the M1 emerged as possibly the best bike in MotoGP towards the end of the 2019 campaign, it had an obvious top speed weakness, which Rossi felt

Maverick Vinales topped the final day of Valencia 2020 pre-season MotoGP testing by 0.164 seconds from fellow Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo. After a first hour without action, Honda’s Stefan Bradl took to the circuit as well as KTM trio Pol Espargaro, Iker Lecuona (Tech3) and Brad Binder. Bradl was forced to park up after just

LCR’s Cal Crutchlow insists it made “more sense” for Honda to sign Marc Marquez’s brother Alex for the 2020 MotoGP season over the other contenders for Jorge Lorenzo’s seat. Crutchlow ended the year as second-best Honda rider in ninth in the standings in 2019 and was the only RC213V rider aside from world champion Marc

Marc Marquez says the crash which totalled his 2020 MotoGP Honda prototype on the first day of the Valencia test was “strange”, but doesn’t believe there was a mechanical issue. Marquez was on an out-lap on the new RC213V prototype when he was flicked from his bike heading into the Turn 13 right-hander on Tuesday

Fabio Quartararo topped the first 2020 pre-season MotoGP test in Valencia despite a crash, while new Honda line-up Marc and Alex Marquez wrecked their bikes in falls during the session. Quartararo set a 1m30.163s late in the afternoon before bringing the session to a halt with a fall at Turn 10, but held onto top

On Monday in Valencia, Honda announced it would be partnering Marc Marquez with his Moto2 world champion brother in MotoGP next season. The previous Thursday, Jorge Lorenzo announced his retirement, with rumours immediately swirling as to who could replace him at the works Honda team. Sensationally, Alex Marquez emerged as a contender, with Autosport revealing

Honda MotoGP team boss Alberto Puig says Alex Marquez would not have been offered a works ride for 2020 had he not won the ’19 Moto2 title. On Monday, Honda confirmed six-time MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez’s brother Alex would take the seat vacated by Jorge Lorenzo, who retired from racing after last weekend’s Valencia

Avintia has announced the renewal of its contract with Ducati and will receive improved manufacturer support, paving the way for Johann Zarco to join the team in MotoGP next year. Zarco has been linked to a place at Avintia over the course of the Valencia Grand Prix weekend, though dismissed the idea of joining it

Aleix Espargaro says that Johann Zarco doesn’t deserve the factory Honda MotoGP ride he’s been linked to and would rather see Alex Marquez join his brother Marc at the team. Jorge Lorenzo’s retirement has freed up the second works Honda bike alongside Marquez, with Cal Crutchlow, Zarco and Alex Marquez all emerging as potential candidates.